TWO FOR THE BLUE

In ideal conditions on Chesapeake Bay, a taut fleet of 17 contestants vied for top honors in the 2023 edition of Cruising World's annual Boat of the Year competition. When the spray had settled, at the top of the leader board was a pair of yachts destined for blue water and beyond: the Lyman-Morse LM46, the Domestic Boat of the Year, and the Hallberg-Rassy 400, the Import Boat of the Year.

- Herb McCormick

The arrival of the cold front could not possibly have been more surreal. At precisely 5 p.m. this past October 17, coinciding exactly with the official pronouncement that the annual US Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, had concluded, a fierce thunderstorm rolled over Chesapeake Bay, generating sideways rain and powerful gusts. Chaos ensued. Exhibitors on land breaking down tents and packing up displays were left doused and scrambling. The crews on boats untying lines to depart the docks ducked for cover. It was a mess for everyone.

Except, that is, for our team of judges for the 2023 Boat of the Year contest, the sea trials for which were scheduled to begin early the next day. For us, hiding out from the fray, the timing couldn't have been better. We knew that the front was also bringing a fresh breeze-a couple of days of pumping northerlies before a welcome swing to solid southerlies. Game on.

Full disclosure: It's not every year that every nominee in our yearly BOTY competition gets tested in superb conditions. Chesapeake Bay can be a fickle test bed in mid-October, particularly on flat-calm mornings, when it takes some time for the capricious sea breeze to fill in. Truthfully, sometimes it never does. But not this year. And while the winds did fluctuate somewhat over the next 72 hours, when our panel conducted sea trials for this year's fleet of 17 entries, overall the conditions were almost ideal-some of the best, most consistent pressure in the 20-odd-year history of the event. Each entry got a fair opportunity to strut its stuff.

And it was a great year for that to happen, because while the fleet may not have been the largest ever, in terms of sailing prowess and performance, it was exemplary across the board. The sailing, quite simply, was outstanding.